Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-02

| The refusal of the State Department to
make public the correspondence between
the department and Gen. Henry Il. Jack
son, which took place when Gen. Jackson
WAS Minister 10 Mexico, and which, it is
understood, shows why he resigned, may
be Interpreted as meaning tn at the de-
partment does not believe that the cor
respOndencG would place it in favorable
light before the public. 1t is true that
the reason given for withholding the cor
respondence may he the real one, but If il
is 1t is difficult to get rid of the impress
sion that the department was a long
while in deciding that it is.
If settlement Of the Rebecca case is
still being pressed it certainly isn't being
pressed with much vigor. 1t has now
dragged along several years, and the
State Department gives no intimation
that there is any immediate prospect OF
its settlement. Indeed, there is ground
for suspicion that it would have never re-
ceived much attention from the State De-
partnent at all if Gen. Jackson had not
termined sort OF way.
The understa ndIng IS that the parties
interested in the Rebecca had about de.
SPARED of getting any redress when Gen.
Jackson interested himself in their case.
de studied 1t carefully, and became con-
WINGED that they had suffered great
wrong. He then went to work in his Wig
orous way TO secure for them the redress
to which they were entitled. He saw
that dilly-dallyIng policy would accom-
plish nothing, because the Mexican gov
eminent would, II permitted, make the
case the subject Of diplomatic CORE
spondence for the next quarter OF GEN.
fury. He knew that the only way to
reach prompt settlement was to give
the Mexican government to understand
that the government at Washington
meant business.
Ii ne had been sustained by the State
Department 1t is probable that the Rebec-
ca case would have been disposed of at
once; and that, too, to the entire salts
faction of the Rebecca's owners and this
government, He was not sustained, how
ever, and he found his position to be q
rather unpleasant one. Believing that
the policy OF the State Department was
not such as to permit him to be as useful
In Mexico as he would like TO be, he re-
signed. 1t is only natural that he should
want the country TO know the
reasons for his resignation. His
desire for the publication of the cores
p'ncerce shows his Willingness to per-
ris tee country to judge whether or not
hts reasons were good ones. There is
s2Eae ground for thinking that Mr.. Bayard
es;ecta TO the publication of these rea.
sons. not because their publicity would
Eurt the Rebecca case, but because they
sEow the State Departments attitude to
have beed one that would not command
the approval Of the public.
There was some surprise expressed
that Special Agent Sedgwlck should have
seea sent to Mexico to look up the facts
ard the law In the Cutting case when it
was kncwn that the Minister was thor
ougnly qualified to furnish all the infor-
NATION that was to be obtained. The
sending of Sedgwick was perhaps in
tended to make the Minister'S position
still more unpleasant.
or course Gen. jackson cannot make
his correspondence with tine State depart
ment public. The only thing he can do is
to wait. with the hope that in time the
way will be opened for its publication
through the legitimate channels.